Hundreds take part in Phoenix ‘apple crunch’ for healthy food
Oct 25, 2014, 5:00 AM | Updated: 1:05 pm
PHOENIX — A lot of people had an apple during lunch in Phoenix on Friday.
That may seem normal, but they were gathered at Cesar Chavez Plaza in downtown Phoenix and six public libraries throughout the city to take part in the FitPHX Apple Crunch. The event encourages healthy eating.
It was designed after a similar event in New York City that happened one year ago Friday.
“Phoenix was trying to replicate it and do even better than New York,” said Suzanne Pfister, a spokeswoman for the St. Luke’s Health Initiative.
There is no word on exactly how many people took place.
During the event, Phoenix City Councilman Daniel Valenzuela announced that the city was joining with the Arizona Department of Health Services, the Maricopa County Health Department, the St. Luke’s Health Iniative and other organizations to form a regional coalition to address food issues.
C.J. Hager of St. Luke’s said he hopes the event addresses a number of issues.
“There are certain populations that are going hungry,” he said. “From the grower’s side, we need to have better policies so that we can urban agriculture on vacant lots, and make sure that are distribution system is as efficient as possible.”
The event featured numerous sponsors such as Sprouts, Jamba Juice and others.